


I Was Standing (You Were There)

by Wyrd_Syster



Series: Two Worlds Collided [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Break Up, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Original Character(s), Sex in a Car
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 16:25:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18123665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wyrd_Syster/pseuds/Wyrd_Syster
Summary: “Why do you call me Eudora and not Patch?” she asked him.He looked slightly taken aback. “Because that’s your name.”“Yeah, but everyone here goes by surnames,” she said.“Not me,” he said. “Not a big fan. Your family name is just who you come from. Your name is who you are. I’d rather be known for me then who I come from.”...OR, Diego Hargreeves may have been an asshole, but he wasn't a complete dick. And despite herself, Eudora finds that she likes that about him.





	I Was Standing (You Were There)

**Author's Note:**

> I fully haven't written fanfiction since BEFORE AO3 was a thing. So, be kind. Beta'd by a friend who doesn't watch the show, so sorry if the characterization is off.
> 
> \--------------

She knew his name before he was even aware of her existence, but honestly, most of the cadets knew his name. And those who didn’t put two-and-two together learned quickly during tactical training, as his weapons arced out of his hands and--impossibly--landed on the target. Or at least, landed on his target, which wasn’t always necessarily where the instructor wanted him to aim. 

She knew his name, and by the end of the first week, she knew he was trouble and she was _not_ looking for trouble. Diego Hargreeves stalked around the police academy with dark, hard eyes and a chip on his shoulder the size of his six siblings and adoptive father. He kept his head down, not like one avoiding attention, but like a ram waiting to lock horns with an opponent.

Eudora Patch, incidentally, also kept her head down, but it was more out of necessity than as a taunt. There were so few women in their academy class, and even fewer women of color, that she knew she had a target on her back the moment she stepped in the building. And Eudora had no intention of being anyone’s target. She was going to be a detective, and nothing was going to get in her way.

By the second week of the academy, Eudora had firmly made up her mind about Diego Hargreeves: he was an _asshole_.

She couldn’t really pin down why he kept bothering them all with his presence; it was clear that he’d rather be anywhere else but here. He complained loudly during procedure lessons, mocked the other recruits during hand-to-hand training, and openly refused to complete written assignments. She once saw him hand in what should have been a five page paper on chain of command, but instead was a crumpled up sheet that had COMMAND THIS CHAIN scrawled across it, accompanied with a suggestive doodle.

He was the first of their class to be suspended, and Eudora secretly hoped he wouldn’t return after break. But return he did--a little quieter, a little more respectful, but still an asshole.

It seemed like the only person he wasn’t an asshole to was the on-campus coffee cart barista, Lucy.

The coffee cart was situated outside of the main building under a blue fabric awning and served your regular black-and-half-caf pots with your occasional steamed milk for a latte. None of this venti mocha frappe crap, just a solid cup of coffee in a cheerful, buttercup yellow to-go cup and maybe a day-old scone or muffin.

Lucy was a few years younger than most of the recruits--maybe nineteen or twenty. The talk was that Lucy’s dad had the main catering contract on the campus, and the coffee cart had been Lucy’s idea when she was younger because she liked watching newbies enter the building as cadets and leave as officers.

Or something like that.

She had long brown hair, a wide, pale face, big eyes hiding behind bigger glasses, and always had classical music playing from a tinny radio on the top of the pastry box.

“Do you really like this crap?” Diego asked her one day, grabbing a coffee and a scone. Eudora hadn’t meant to get in line behind him, but she was hungry and class started soon.

Lucy flushed and glanced at the radio he had indicated. “Y-yes,” she said.

She looked like she was expecting a reproach (and Eudora was getting ready to jump to her defense) when the asshole actually _smiled_ and nodded at her.

“Yeah, my sister Vanya likes it too. Heard it a whole bunch growing up,” he said. “Do you play anything? Or just like to listen?”

“Just listen,” said Lucy. Then, a little bolder, “I tried piano when I was a kid, but it didn’t stick.”

“Do you want to go to a concert on Saturday?” Diego asked.

Lucy (and probably Eudora too) looked shocked at the prospect of _Diego Hargreeves asking her out_ but--

“Not as a date or anything!” he amended quickly. He pulled out a crumpled letter from his back pocket. “Vanya, my sister, she just got into some symphony or something downtown and she invited me. But, it’s not really my thing and I’m not too interested in running into my family at the moment so, uh, free ticket? If you’re interested.”

He waved the crumpled paper out ahead of him. Lucy snatched it and read the fine print quickly.

“Yes! Yes, thank you!” she gushed, eyes shining. “Did you know Helen Chang _just_ made first chair of this symphony? They’re saying she’s the next big thing in classical music! I-,” she glanced up at Diego’s face, which must have shown disinterest because she shrank suddenly and, still beaming, said, “thanks so much. This is really nice of you.”

“Yeah, well,” now it was Diego’s turn to look awkward. Eudora noticed that back of his neck was turning red.

He must’ve suddenly realized that Eudora was there as he turned around, made eye-contact with her, flushed an even _deeper_ shade of red and mumbled “enjoy” to Lucy before sprinting off.

Eudora was confused. “Well, that was unexpected,” she said to Lucy, who looked flustered.

“How come?” Lucy said, shaking herself out of her reverie and preparing Eudora’s normal order (small coffee, splash of cream, blueberry scone).

“Hargreeves is such an asshole, I never thought he had the ability to even smile,” Eudora said, handing over the exact change for her breakfast.

 “But he’s not an asshole!” Lucy protested. At a raised eyebrow from Eudora, she added, “I mean, he can be surly and he looks all mean and stuff, but he always tips me for his coffee and he usually says hi, even if he’s just passing. I think he just likes to look mean, I don’t think that’s really who he is.”

Eudora thought that over as she walked to class, drinking her coffee slowly.

As she rounded the hallway towards the first classroom, she saw Diego leaning against a wall, absentmindedly flipping his knives around and catching them handily. But when he saw her, he straightened up and walked over.

“Look, Eudora, I hope we can keep that interaction out there with Lucy to just us,” he said, forgoing all introduction.

“It’s Patch,” Eudora said reflexively. She narrowed her eyes. “Why? Can’t let any of the big bad recruits know that Hargreeves has a soft side?”

“No,” he said. His stance was tense but his eyes ( _really lovely dark, expressive eyes,_ Eudora thought helplessly) were imploring. “No, we can’t let any of the ‘big bad recruits’ think I’m sweet on Lucy.”

The thought had barely occurred to Eudora, and it caused her to laugh in surprise. “Are you?” she asked.

Diego scoffed. “No, she’s just a kid. But,” he took a step forward, invading more of Eudora’s space, “I haven’t made a lot of friends in class, and I’ve been around guys like this enough to know that one of them might assume something about me and Lucy and go out of their way to upset her.”

“No one training to be a _police officer_ would do that,” Eudora said, even though her stomach sank at the very words.

Diego raised his eyebrows at her, assessing her expression. “You know as well as I do, Eudora, that not everyone who wears a nice suit is as nice on the inside.”

“My name is _Patch,_ ” she snapped. She held his gaze for a moment longer before shrugging and stepping away. “But, whatever you say Hargreeves, your secret is safe with me.”

She was already walking into the classroom so she didn’t catch Diego’s grin, nor did she notice him checking her out appreciatively. “My deepest thanks, _Eudora_.”

 ----

She started paying attention more after that. Turns out Hargreeves may have been an asshole, but he wasn’t a dick. Sure, he was a show-off and a loud mouth, but some of the points he shouted at the teacher mid-lecture made sense. They were all pretty good trained fighters, why weren’t they getting more training on de-escalation? How come all of these suspect rap sheet profiles all seemed to come from the same neighborhood? And if they had to do all this paperwork just for booking someone, how come they didn’t have requisite paperwork for firing a gun? 

“That guy is a total _dick_ ,” the cadet who sat behind Eudora mumbled to his buddy one day after class. “Why doesn’t he just shut the fuck up and learn the material like everyone else?”

Quick as a flash, Eudora whipped around. “That _dick_ , Harrison, may be disruptive but at least he’s asking real questions about protocol, instead of your winners like ‘what’s severance like if you get shot in the leg?’”

Harrison’s buddy laughed, but he looked murderous. “I didn’t realize we were all training to ‘protect and serve’ your boyfriend, Patch,” he leered.

Eudora bristled. “He is _not_ my boyfriend,” she snapped. “He only wishes he was that lucky.”

“Speaking of luck,” Harrison dove for Eudora’s bag before she could stop him and ripped the lucky rabbit’s foot from the front pocket.

“What’s this?” he mocked, dangling it in front of her face. “A little good-luck charm from the boyfriend?”

 In a rage, Eudora lunged for her rabbit foot but Harrison jumped up higher, standing over her for the rest of the dwindling class to see.

“What’s the matter, Eudora, can’t handle the academy without it?”

She was about to take this guy down when a pen came whizzing through the air and buried itself in its target--Harrison’s hand. With a yelp, he dropped the rabbit’s foot and ripped the pen from his flesh. Blood started oozing from the wound.

“I don’t know why you think taunting her is going to help your standing at all, Paul,” Diego said lazily, walking past the scene as if he had no hand in its outcome. “We all know you’re one bad paper away from flunking out. Maybe if you ask nicely next time, Eudora might lend you her lucky charm, yeah? Seems like you need it a lot more than her.” He gave them a lazy salute on his way out the door. 

There was a beat, then Eudora jumped up to follow him, rabbit foot safely stored back into the bag slung across her shoulders. 

“Hey! HEY, HARGREEEVES!” Eudora shouted after Diego. He didn’t slow down, but she caught up to him as he exited the building.

“What the hell do you think you were doing back there?” She snarled in his face.

Diego’s face went from smug, to slack, to annoyed. “Getting back your dumb, creepy bunny thing back. You’re welcome by the way,” he added. 

“I do not need you to fight my battles,” Eudora snapped, prodding him the chest for emphasis. “I had that handled!” 

“No, you were about to body slam that loser into the desk and break his teeth. I could see that all over your face,” Diego said. Was it her imagination or did he almost sound complimentary? “I just stepped in to save _you_ the trouble of getting written-up, and to save _his_ shiny, white teeth. Give it a few years and a drinking problem, those teeth may be the only thing he has left going for him.” 

Despite herself, Eudora barked a laugh at that. Her anger was draining, and she realized how close the two of them were standing. It was getting late, and the lamplights clicking on around the building were shining in his eyes.

“Why do you call me Eudora and not Patch?” she asked him.

He looked slightly taken aback. “Because that’s your name.”

“Yeah, but everyone here goes by surnames,” she said.

“Not me,” he said. “Not a big fan. Your family name is just who you come from. Your name is who you are. I’d rather be known for me then who I come from.”

In that moment, with the night air cooling and the lamplights reflecting back at her from Diego’s too-dark eyes, something clicked.

She had some trouble breaking his gaze, but when she did and stepped out of his circle, she shrugged. “I’m hungry,” she announced. “Want to get dinner?”

Diego didn’t even do the courtesy of looking surprised at her offer. He just grinned. “Thought you’d never ask.”

\-----

 It turns out, Eudora kind of liked Diego. Scratch that, she really liked Diego. 

He was still just as much as an asshole, but she understood it now. Over study sessions at her apartment (“Mine’s not fit for decent company,” he had said), or jogs on the weekend, Eudora learned a little more about his family that wasn’t readily available in any tabloid.

Six siblings sounded hard enough, but the competition, the fights, the save-the-world-before-dinner nonsense sounded impossible to manage. She learned about how snarky Five had disappeared (“Why didn’t he have a name?” Eudora asked. Diego shrugged. “Guess he didn’t want one,”) and about the death of sweet Ben.

She knew of Allison, of course. The stunning actress who had starred in all of Eudora’s favorite sick-day chick-flicks (“Your taste in films is sad, Eudora,” Diego teased) but she was startled to learn from her brother how standoffish and spoiled she was.

Luther, however,  was the subject of all of Diego’s ire, and he mentioned him fleetingly. Only that he was a bad leader, a worse brother, and a self-important bastard. 

And Klaus was a mess. A mess larger than the other six siblings combined, in and out of rehabs, jail, and disappearing for lengths of time only to reappear six months later wearing a skirt and a leather jacket. It was obvious Diego worried for his brother, but what could he do? You can’t help someone who won’t help themselves.

Poor Vanya was barely an afterthought. Only that she was ordinary, played violin, and had purposefully removed herself from the family.

Beyond that, Diego didn’t speak much of his family, which was fine for Eudora. Baggage was hard enough, throw in superhero dysfunction and it became too much for anyone to handle. Mostly they kept things light; the police academy, bickering over tastes in music, or where to grab lunch.

And when they weren’t studying or jogging, they were fucking.

It was completely inevitable that they fell in bed together. Every interaction leading up to that moment seemed to just be testing that invisible barrier between them. The way he looked at her, so intense she like was already bare before him, had her melting under his gaze. When she brushed a hand over his shoulder (completely intentional) or got right up in his face she would notice him shiver. 

Two weeks of just skating past each other, undressing each other with their eyes and light teasing, only to wind up in the back of Diego’s car after a particularly competitive Saturday morning run.

It had started off easy and standard, like all their other jogs. They kept pace together, going back and forth quizzing each other on protocols, rules of engagement, police numbers, and anything else that had popped up in class that week.

As they reached the final leg of the course, Diego looked over at her with a grin. “Race you to the end?”

Eudora grinned back and took off without a second thought. “Meet you there!” she shouted behind her.

“Oh, Dora, you have no idea who you’re messing with!” Diego shouted. He was a good head taller than her and his legs carried him far. He was agile and fast where most other recruits were solid and strong.

“Maybe you’re the one who should be worried,” Eudora shouted back. Diego may be fast, but she was faster. “You’re contending with a state-champion track star here!”

Breaking free from the jog into an all-out sprint was exhilarating. For a few glorious moments, Eudora was flying. Her legs carried her faster than her brain had time to command movement, and the steady jolts of her feet smacking against the ground ricocheted up her spine. 

She could feel Diego just behind her right elbow, could hear the rasp of his breath over the short spikes of her own. He was close enough to touch her, to reach out a hand and graze her arm, and for a moment that’s all she wanted. For him to grab her, for a reason to touch him back. To land on top of him and show him who was in charge.

Just as quickly as the thoughts passed through her mind, she found her last burst of strength and broke away, crossing the designated end of the track just a moment before Diego.

“Yes!” she pumped both her fists in the air. Her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest and she could feel the sweat sliding down her forehead and arms. “Yes! Eudora Patch, fastest woman alive!”

“I let you win,” Diego laughed, slowing down with his hands on his knees, clearly out of breath. His face was glistening in the morning sun, his neck red. His sweaty shirt clung to his chest, doing nothing to hide the curve of muscle underneath the fabric.

“Of course you did,” Eudora said. Her heart was still beating a mile a minute, adrenaline surging through her veins like lightning. “You let me win by being slower than Eudora Patch, fastest woman alive!”

Diego stood up, grinning. But it wasn’t the elated grin of a few moments past, but something quieter, more predatory. He made no move to be subtle as his eyes slid over her body, taking in her flush, her heaving chest. Her smile.

Eudora, for her part high on adrenaline and giddy with her win, let him look. Her heart was beating harder than ever, but for a different reason entirely. She held his eye contact, seeing something shift in those lovely, dark eyes. 

It wasn’t clear who moved first, but one of them must have. They were suddenly pressed together, his hands cupping her face, her fingers twisted in his shirt. His mouth was hard against her but his lips were soft, lush. 

She whimpered as his fingers tightened on her jaw, hurting in the best possible way. His resounding groan thrummed through her stomach. She gasped as their tongues tangled, feeling the need shaking through them both.

“Diego,” she meant it as a warning, but it came out as a moan.

“Oh, I do like it when you say my name,” he murmured, biting her ear softly. “Let’s see if we can get you to be a little louder, hmm?”

In all the times Eudora had imagined being with Diego, and she had imagined it a lot over the past few weeks, she had imagined a quick fuck, an itch being scratched.

This was not at all what she had imagined.

They wound up in the back of his car, her legs locked around his hips, her hands gripping the worn vinyl seats behind his head. With his hands tight around her hips, he ground her over his hard cock, straining against his gym shorts. His mouth was latched to the junction of her shoulder, sucking and biting a bruise into her skin.

Eudora cried out and gripped the back of his head, yanking him away with a sharp tug.

 “It’s 80 degrees out, are you going to make me have to wear a scarf tomorrow?” She gasped, breathless.

Diego’s eyes darkened as he appraised his work. “I don’t want you to wear a scarf,” he said, kissing the spot softly. “I want you to show this off. Let everyone know who gave it to you.” 

“I’m not much for showing off,” Eudora said. “But maybe you are.” 

With her hand still buried in his hair, she yanked his head further back, exposing his corded throat. He moaned as she scraped her teeth along his pulse, biting and licking her way up to his ear. 

He may have been letting her lead, but there was no doubt which one of them was in control. Diego gripped her hard, pulling at her clothes, skimming over her sides, tweaking her nipples. 

When he finally slid his hand down the front of her leggings he let out a filthy moan that had her insides clenching. “All this for me, Dora?” He asked. 

He looked too damn pleased with himself. She silenced him with a tug to his hair and another kiss. 

Slowly, from the cramped and awkward position, he began to tease her with the pads of his calloused fingers. Eudora shuddered and whimpered against his mouth when he found the right rhythm, thrusting against his hand.

“Ouch, Dora, I need that hand,” he grunted.

 “Then maybe get your hand out of my pants and fuck me already,” she breathed into his mouth.

It took some more maneuvering for them both to get their pants down and grab the condom from Diego’s gym back (“always prepared,” he said with a wink.) When she finally had him inside her, he swore loudly.

“Fuck, Dora,” he moaned.

 She was prepared for this to be the trigger that brought on the quick fuck, but if anything, Diego slowed down, his hands smoothing up her back, cupping her neck in a way that was almost sweet.

They moved together, breathing in shared gasps and moan, the feeling of skin on skin overwhelming. Eudora’s hands were still buried in his hair, but now she was smoothing it back from his face instead of tugging it, mouthing at his jaw, his cheeks, his hairline--any part of him she could get. 

Diego was babbling softly, murmuring encouragements and “good girl”s into her ears that had her flushing and thrusting harder. He slid his fingers to just above where they were connected and moved them in fast, steady circles against her clit.

Eudora’s body thrummed in response and she moaned, arching into his hand as she shuddered and came hard around him. With a groan, Diego followed soon after.

Breathless, they held each other, Eudora’s hands looped around his neck, Diego softly stroking her back. For a few blissed out moments, it was just them together, connected in the most intimate way, feeling the waves of contentment wash through them.

“C’mon, we should get going,” Diego said at last, nudging Eudora off his lap.

She slid off reluctantly, adjusting her running leggings. She turned to face him and say--what? Sorry it took so long to get here? That was a one time thing? Was that as fun for you as it was for me?--but the look on his face stopped her. 

His face was open and warm, his eyes bright. “That was uh,” he rubbed his jaw. With his mouth kiss-bruised and his hair ruffled, the afternoon sun shining through the window backlit him in a buttery glow, he was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

“Yeah,” she answered, a smile tugging at her lips. “It was, uh...yeah.”

“Did you want to go grab a bite or…?” Diego pushed his tongue into his cheek, eyebrows raised suggestively.

 Even though she could still feel the ache of him between her legs, Eudora laughed softly. “I’m not too hungry,” she said.

He reached for her hand and brushed his lips against her knuckles. “Well then, why don’t we head back to your place and see if there’s a way for us to work up your appetite…”

\--- 

It continued in this pattern for a few weeks, a mix of training, teasing, and fucking. Study sessions became a lot more enjoyable with Diego’s head buried between her legs, and Eudora found she didn’t quite mind skipping the early morning runs if there was another activity she could engage in that was just as sure to get her heartrate up.

At the academy, they remained as indifferent towards each other as when they were strangers. But, in the comfort of Eudora’s apartment, or Diego’s car, they tentatively began to learn each other.

Diego was tactile, and now that he had permission to touch Eudora, he rarely stopped. A hand on her knee as they drove, placed warmly on her lower back, or playing with her hair in the early hours of the morning.

Eudora found that, while his snarky mouth still annoyed her to no end in class, she loved putting it good use, between her legs or muttering obscenities in her ear. 

Little things too. He wasn’t a good cook, but happy to oblige a taste test. She was hell to wake up in the mornings and nearly incoherent without at least two cups of coffee. He sang in the shower. She had a habit of starting books and growing bored halfway through, leaving dog-eared paperbacks strewn around her otherwise neat apartment.

For a few weeks, things were generally going well. So when things fell apart, as they are wont to do, they fell apart fast.

\---

“If she invited you again, that means she wants you there, Diego!” Eudora repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. “You could at least meet her halfway!” 

Eudora didn’t usually discuss the rest of the Hargreeves. For all she cared, Diego was an only child with no additional family baggage. Well, an only child with a twin sister who kept inviting him to watch her symphony perform at the Icarus Theater.

When Diego first mentioned an invitation weeks back, Eudora had been interested in attending, but he quickly distracted her. Then, another invitation paired with an excuse. And another. And another.

It was her fault, really. She had made the mistake of calling him out, demanding he give her a real reason for not accepting Vanya’s offer. And when no legitimate reason was provided, Eudora found herself getting annoyed. Diego was many things, but he wasn’t a coward and he wasn’t cruel, and totally stonewalling his sister for no reason was both of those things.

“How is this halfway?” Diego asked, arms crossed defiantly. “This is me doing exactly what she wants and--”

“Oh my _god_ , Diego, it’s an invitation to listen to her play violin for an hour! Not a demand to give up your first born!” Eudora snapped. “You don’t have to be such an asshole all the time!”

“I am not _being_ an asshole here, Dora,” Diego argued. “You just don’t understand--,”

“I have sisters too, Diego, I know they can be annoying,” Eudora said. “And I know your childhood was shittier than most, but that’s not Vanya’s fault, is it? What’s the worse that can happen?”

“There are at least five bad outcomes to this,” Diego snapped. He ticked them off, “Luther, Allison, Klaus, my _dad,_ and oh yeah, Vanya!”

“What’s she going to do to you? Honestly? She’s not inviting you as a trick!” Eudora said.

 Diego threw up his hands in exasperation. “You know what? Fine! You want to go to this damn concert so bad? Well then let’s go!”

The drive to the Icarus was quiet, tense. A small fissure of guilt had worked its way into Eudora’ stomach. Was this really her place? Calling Diego an asshole and forcing him to see a sister he definitely didn’t want to see?

On the other hand, Diego’s family was his biggest weakness, a sore spot where love and anger mixed together and turned him mean. Eudora didn’t want to fix it, that wasn’t her place. But if she could just get him to see that not all his bridges were burned, that someone was trying to reach out, wasn’t she obligated to push him in the right direction? That wasn’t fixing him. That was helping him fix himself. 

By the time they arrived at the Icarus, Diego’s mood had only soured. For all his mouthiness, he was totally silent, avoiding looking at Eudora and huffing out sighs of indignation intermittently. Finally fed up, Eudora was about to just call it a night and walk right out when someone squealed her name behind her.

“Oh! Eudora, Diego! Hi!”

It was Lucy, looking cheery and very pretty in a dark blue sundress and her brown hair braided into an intricate knot on the top of her head. Standing beside her, looking equally as surprised to see Diego and Eudora, wearing an off-putting, gleeful look on his face was-- 

“Harrison,” Eudora acknowledged. Then to Lucy, “Hi, you look very nice tonight.” 

“Thank you,” Lucy beamed. “I didn’t realize you two were planning on attending tonight.” 

“I don’t think I realized you two were an _item_ ,” Harrison said. The look in his eyes was gleeful, and Eudora could feel Diego stiffen beside her. 

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, Paul,” Diego said with an air of disdain. “Just here to support my sister.” 

“Sister?”

“Yeah, remember?” Lucy said hesitantly, starting to sense the tension. “Diego gave me his tickets that first night? They were from his sister.”

“Oh of course, how could I forget,” Paul said. He draped an arm across Lucy’s thin shoulders and flashed a smile. “That was such a _memorable_ night.”

“Didn’t realize you were such a fan of fine arts, Harrison,” Eudora said. 

“Not much, no,” Harrison agreed. “But my date that night was. And of course when I saw Lucy here looking so pretty, I finally ‘heard the music,’ you know? So now whenever she can’t score free tickets from her dealer, I like to supply.”

The implication of _dealer_ was obvious, and Eudora’s hands tightened into fists.

“How generous of you there, Paul,” Diego said. “Although I didn’t realize you usually had much luck _scoring_.” He patted Harrison’s shoulder condescendingly. “Now, if you excuse us, I think this thing’s about to start.”

“Bye Lucy, enjoy,” Eudora said as she followed after Diego to their seats. Lucy cast her a look of deep discomfort while Harrison looked after Diego with open hatred.

In their seats, Diego looked pretty pleased about himself, and something about the waves of _machismo_ rolling off him made Eudora angrier.

“Well, I think I handled that well,” he murmured to her as the lights lowered.

“Really?” Eudora asked. “I was about to say the exact opposite.” 

Diego looked at her in surprise. “How can you say that?”

“You didn’t have to take the bait, Diego,” Eudora whispered. The orchestra was coming onto the stage now. She didn’t know which one was Vanya.

“So what, you would have preferred it if I just let him insult me?” Diego asked. The first notes of the tuning filled the air. It clanged harshly with their whispered argument.

“I would have preferred it if you had just walked away,” Eudora hissed. “You really don’t know when to stop, do you?”

Diego gaped at her for a moment, then turned around and sank deeper into his chair.

He sulked in silence for the rest of the concert.

\---

 

“Diego? I can’t believe you came!”

It turns out, Vanya was the fragile looking brunette who sat in the back row of the orchestra. Her shoulders seemed to be permanently hunched, and her pale face was flushed at the sight of her brother. 

The concert had ended ten minute ago. As soon as the house lights were up, Diego had stood to leave, but Eudora stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“It’s polite to say hi,” she said, hating how much she sounded like her own mother. Diego hadn’t resisted, but he had rolled his eyes.

They had met Vanya in the lobby, and she seemed shocked to see them.

“Yeah, well, you wouldn’t stop inviting me, so here I am,” Diego said with a shrug. 

Eudora watched the bitterness in his tone cut his sister down a peg. Annoyed, Eudora stepped forward with an outstretched hand.

“Hi, I’m Eudora Patch,” she said. “I’m a friend of Diego’s from the academy. It’s great to finally meet you in person, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Vanya shook her hand, looking between Diego and Eudora in surprise. “Really? That’s, uh, that’s nice.” She stepped back and glanced at Diego, who was pointedly ignoring her. “I haven’t heard much about you but--”

“Well, that’s because we haven’t spoken in a year,” Diego said loudly.

Awkwardness settled between them “R-right,” Vanya said, flushing deeply and looking down at her feet.

Eudora attempted to salvage the conversation once more. “It was a lovely concert. Your group is very talented.” 

“Thanks--”

“I didn’t realize you sat so far in the back,” Diego cut in. He leveled Vanya with an intense look. “But I guess they save the front row for the stars, right? The extraordinary ones?” 

“Diego!”

“It’s fine,” Vanya said quickly to Eudora. She was pale now, shaking slightly. “Thanks for coming, Diego. Really. I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, give it another year or so,” Diego called after her as she hurried away.

Eudora rounded on Diego, her eyes flashing. “What is _wrong with you_?” She snapped. 

Diego had the audacity to look innocent. “What? I didn’t do anything!”

“I can’t believe you would be that mean to your own sister!” Eudora said. “What did she do to piss you off, huh? Or are you mad at me and mad at Harrison so you decided to take it out on her?”

“Don’t try to psycho-mumbo-jumbo me, Eudora, it’s not going to work,” Diego said in a low voice.

“No, of course not, how dare I try to assume what’s going through that thick skull of yours.”

“Well, you knew what you were getting into when you signed up for this,” Diego said. “I’m not apologizing for who I am, I don’t need to. Maybe if you want  a guy with a good family and to go to more of these fru-fru concerts you can start going with Paul. Apparently he’s pretty good at _scoring_.”

Eudora could feel her blood boiling. She was going to make a scene if she didn’t calm down.

“ _Harrison_?” she hissed, trying to contain herself. “You’re jealous of _Harrison_?”

Diego’s face shuttered, cold and angry. “Let’s get one thing straight here, Eudora,” Diego said. “I am jealous of _no one_ , do you understand? _No one_.”

“Yeah, you sound really convincing there, Hargreeves,” Eudora shot. “At least Harrison isn’t causing a scene in public.” She turned on her heel and marched away.

Diego sighed and ran after her. “Eudora, hey Dora! Where are you going?” 

“Home.” 

“Well, fine, the car is this way.”

“No, I’m calling a cab,” Eudora said. She stood out on the road and raised her arm to hail a passing taxi.

“You can’t be serious,” Diego said.

The taxi pulled up on the curb and Eudora gave her home address. Before getting in she turned to Diego. His face was raw and hurt, but for that moment, Eudora just didn’t care. She had had enough tonight.

“Go home, Diego,” she said cooly. “I’ll see you in class.” She slid into the taxi and slammed the door behind her.

“Great!” Diego shouted at the taxi as it began to speed away. “Real mature, Eudora!” He then realized other theatergoers on the curb were staring at him.

“And what are you looking at?” He snapped at an elderly couple who shrank back at his anger.

Annoyed, Diego stalked away.

\--- 

The first thing that crossed Eudora’s mind when she awoke the next morning was that this was definitely, positively, _certainly_ not her fault. 

The second thing she realized as she stepped out of the shower was that yes, okay, maybe she wasn’t _entirely_ blameless.

The third thing she decided as she stepped onto campus was that, she was definitely not going to apologize. Not for the whole thing at least. But she was a big enough person to admit that maybe she had interfered where she shouldn't have. And she definitely shouldn’t have risen to Diego’s bait about Harrison.

It was all still on her mind when she got in line at the coffee cart, but she quickly forgot it all when she saw it was empty. Which was unusual, especially since she had just seen Lucy the night before. The cart didn’t even have its typical “Closed” sign hanging from the awning, just an empty space and a silent radio. 

It was then that Eudora heard crying off behind the building. Startled, she followed the noise. She found Lucy weeping on a bench, Diego sitting next to her, looking murderous.

“Lucy? Diego?” Something wasn’t right. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on,” Diego seethed. “Apparently your good friend _Paul_ can “hear the music” but can’t seem to hear the word ‘no.’”

“Lucy,” Eudora gasped, horrified. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a pack of tissues, passing them to her. “Lucy, I am so sorry.”

“He...he tried,” Lucy sniffed. She was mangling the tissue in her hands, dabbing at her eyes and trying to regain her breathing. “He was d-drunk and mad and he-he tried but...I kept saying no, but he didn’t listen. I g-got away, but…”

“She’s smart,” Diego said in a detached voice. “Hit him over the head with a lamp and hid behind the dumpster in the alley until the coast was clear.”

“But now he’s going to p-press charges against me,” Lucy whimpered to Eudora, looking at her with big, red eyes. “And he-he...I don’t want to _see_ him.”

“Well, I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Diego said. He got down on a knee in front of Lucy and grasped her hand. “I promise. He’s not going to bother you again and he won’t be pressing charges. I’ll make sure of that.” 

He jumped up quickly and hurried off, not even bothering to acknowledge Eudora’s presence.

“Lucy, stay here.”

Eudora ran after Diego. “What do you mean you’re going to take care of it?” She asked, matching his stride.

  
Diego glanced at her and kept barreling ahead. “Like I said, he’s not going to bother her.”

“Diego, stop, stop!” She wheeled ahead of him and pressed her palms to his chest. “Diego I know you’re mad--I’m fucking _furious_. But we have to be smart. We have to go report this! To the Dean or the HR representative!”

“The HR representative? Are you kidding?” Diego asked, incredulously. “What are they going to do about this?”

“They’ll expel him!” Eudora said.

“Are you really this dumb or do you just like playing the idiot?” Diego snapped.

“Don’t you dare speak to me that way,” Eudora snapped back, pushing him hard.

Diego stumbled and shook his head. “You know, I thought you were the real deal. Someone who actually _cared_. But look at you. Someone you know was attacked and you want to, what? Open a case file on the attacker? Bring him in for disciplinary action?” He laughed, mirthlessly. “Grow-up, Eudora. Someone like Paul? They’re going to give him a slap on the wrist and promote him to police captain in five years’ time. Just you wait.”

“And what are you planning to do about it, huh?” Eudora asked. 

“Well,” Diego leaned in, tauntingly. “We’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

He walked around her and began moving purposefully back towards the building. Eudora was going to call out to him again when Harrison emerged from the double front doors, looking hungover and mad.

 “Perfect,” she hear Diego murmur. Then, before she could stop him, Diego pulled back and punched Harrison right in the nose.

“JESUS--FUCK!” Harrison screamed, doubling down as blood began gushing from his face.

“Sorry, you didn’t like that?” Diego shouted. He kicked Harrison in the stomach, who went tumbling to the ground with a pained grunt.

 _“You fucking psycho! Stop!_ ”

Harrison was up now and lunged at Diego, and it became an all-and-out brawl. Other cadets circled around them, shouting encouragements and obscenities.

“Sorry, you _don’t_ like this?” Diego yelled as he landed another punch in Harrison’s stomach.

“NO, NO, FUCK, STOP IT YOU PSYCHO!” Harrison shrieked. He got Diego in the mouth, splitting his lip and causing a rain of bloody spittle to fall on some of the onlookers who had gathered too close.

“Oh, so _NOW_ you understand what no means?” Diego asked, licking the blood on his lips.

A shiver went through the crowd of onlookers. Everyone understood.

With a yell, Harrison lunged at Diego again, knocking him to the ground and squeezing his throat in his hands.

“Diego, DIEGO!” Eudora shouted over the crowd, watching his face turn red.

For a moment, Eudora forgot that Diego had spent his entire childhood training as a superhero. She forgot that he, out of all the cadets, new to be prepared for the worst case scenario of a fight. Which is why she shouldn’t have been surprised when a knife appeared in Diego’s hand and he brought it down into Harrison’s forearm with a sickening squelch.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

It was happening too fast. Harrison was screaming. Blood was spraying from his wounded arm. Diego was still lying on the ground, laughing.  Trained officers from the academy were swarming in, breaking up the fight. One was rushing Harrison towards the emergency medic’s wing, the other was yanking Diego off the ground and locking handcuffs over his wrist.

“Is this really necessary?” Eudora mumbled weakly, watching the guard frog march Diego towards the dean’s office.

A girl standing in front of Eudora, watching the whole mess unfold, turned with her eyebrows raised. “Uh, yeah I would say so,” she said. “That crazy jackass just tried to _kill_ Harrison.”

“He’s not a jackass,” Eudora found herself blurting. “And he didn’t try to kill him. And maybe if he was, well, maybe Harrison deserved it.”

The girl looked at her like she had grown a second head. Realizing what she had said, Eudora tried to correct herself but the girl was already walking away from her as quickly as possible.

Eudora  suddenly found herself alone, the crowd dispersing now that the show was over. There was blood on her shoes and a horrible, sick feeling in her stomach. 

For the first time in her life, Eudora Patch skipped school. She turned and walked back towards her bus stop, headed home.

\--- 

She figured Diego would show up later on, but it was nearly midnight before he knocked on her door.

“Well, you will be pleased to know that as of today, Diego Hargreeves is no longer a student at the police academy,” he drawled by way of introduction. His breath stank of beer.

“Oh Diego, I am sorry. Really,” Eudora said. She reached out a hand to his shoulder but he shrugged her off.

“I’m expelled but that bastard is suspended awaiting a disciplinary hearing!” He grinned at her, something mean and drunk. “You must be pleased.”

“I am not,” Eudora said. “Diego, I’m sorry you were expelled, but what did you expect? You can’t just beat someone up when you’re mad, and you can’t _stab_ them in public.”

“Oh, but if it had been a private stabbing you’d be okay with that?” he asked, pushing his tongue into his cheek, the innuendo clear.

“Get fucked, Hargreeves.”

“Is that not what we’re discussing?” He asked, slinking up to her and looping his arms around her waist. She pushed him away, and he teetered back, hurt in his eyes. 

“Don’t you come in here acting like a drunk fool and expect me to give you any sympathy or a pity fuck,” Eudora spat.

“No, why would I expect any pity from you?” Diego shot back.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“You don’t get it,” Diego snapped, eyes blazing bright with anger. “You don’t get _anything_. Not me, not my fucking _family_ , and not how any of this is supposed to work.” 

“There is procedure for a _reason_ , Diego,” Eudora said. “A paper trail would have followed Harrison, it would make it easier for him to get expelled, arrested even!”

Diego scoffed.

“It would have protected Lucy,” Eudora snapped. “But now she’s got nothing. All because you couldn’t be bothered to stop, it’s likely Harrison will be back in class in time to graduate. Because you don’t know when to stop.”

“Oh, I have plenty of ideas of when it’s time to _stop_ , Eudora,” Diego hissed. “Like right now. I think this, whatever we’ve got going on, it has to _stop_.”

“Fine!” shouted Eudora. “Fine! You know what? I think for once you’re right.”

They stood on opposite sides of her small living room, glaring at each other, breathing heavily.

Finally, Eudora straightened up. “I think it’s time for you to go, Diego.”

He nodded, suddenly avoiding her gaze. “Sure thing, Eudora, w-whatever you w-want.” Diego turned and left her apartment. “See you around, Eudora,” he murmured, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Eudora was left in the still, the vibrations of their fight reverberating off the walls. Something sad and broken seemed to be trying to climb its way out of her chest, but she took a deep, shuddering breath and forced it down.

No, it was better this way. Diego Hargreeves was just a distraction. A lovely, horrible, _asshole_ of a distraction. And if she was going to do this right, if she was going to graduate the academy at the top of her class so she could continue on her way to being a detective, well, then, there wasn’t much room in her life anyways for distractions.

“This is for the best,” she mumbled to her empty living room. 

It would be over a year before she saw Diego Hargreeves again.

**Author's Note:**

> More to come.


End file.
